io8 An Hijlorical Journal of 



of the Sioux, The other three ufe the Algonquin Language. 

 The CriJ^ in aux, or Killijii no fis, come from the North of the upper 

 Lake. The Savages of the Kivtr Botirbon (a), and the River 

 Sainte Tberefe, have a Language entirely different from either : It 

 is probable they are more acquainted with the EJkimaux Lan- 

 guage. It is obferved, that they are extremely fuperftitious, and 

 offer fome Sort of Sacrifices. Thofe who are the moft ac- 

 quainted with them affirm, that they have, like thofe of Canada^ 

 a Notion of a good and evil Spirit ; that the Sun is their great 

 Deity ; and that when they deliberate on an important Affair, 

 they make him as it were fmoke ; which they perform in this 

 Manner : They affemble at Day-break in a Cabin of one of 

 their Chiefs ; who, after having lighted his Pipe, prefents it 

 three Times to the rifmg Sun ; then he guides it with both 

 Hands from the Eafl to the Well:, praying the Sun to favour the 

 Nation. This being done, all the Affembly fmoke in the fame 

 Pipe. All thefe Savages, though they are of five or fix difi^srent 

 Nations, are known in the French Relations by the Name of the 

 Sauenois, becaufe the Country where they inhabit is low, marfiiy, 

 poorly wooded, and becaufe in Canada they call Sa^vanes (b) thofe 

 wet Lands which are good for nothing. 



Going to the North of the Bay, we find two Rivers ; the firfi: 

 of v/hich is called the Danes Ri^ver, and the fécond the Ri^ver of 

 Seals, There are fome Savages on the Sides of thefe P^ivers, to 

 ^^jvhom they have given (I know not why) the Name, or rather 

 'he Nick-Name, of the fiat Sides of Dogs, They are often at 

 .^^ar againft the Sa^janois, but neither one nor the other treat 

 eir Prilbners with that Barbarity which is ufual amongH the 

 ~anadians ; they only keep them in Slavery. The Salamis are 

 often reduced by Want to Grange Extremities : Either through 

 dlenefs on their Part, or that their Land produces nothing at 

 ail, they find themfelves, when the Chace and the Fiihery fail, 

 without any Proyifions ; and then it is faid, they make no Diffi- 

 culty to eat one another : The Weakeft, no Doubt, go firfi:. It 

 is alfo faid, that it is a Cuilom amongft them, that when a Man 

 is arrived to an Age in v/liich he can be of no longer Service to 

 his Family, but on the contrary a Burden to it, he puts a Cord 

 himfelf about his Neck, and prefents the two Ends of it to him 

 of his Sons whom he is moft fond of, who ftrangles him as foon 

 as he can : He even thinks that in this he does a good Adlion, 



(a) They fay that when they have gone one hundred Leagues up this Ri- 

 ver, it is no longer navigable for fifty Leagues, and that afterwards it runs 

 in the midft of a very fine Country, and this lafls to the Lake of the AJfm- 

 ^£?/7j, where it fifes, 



(h) The Evglrfi call them Swamp, 



not 



